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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

You might remember that one of the things I wanted to do this year was to build a fairy garden with the kids. We finished ours this past weekend and had a lot of fun doing it. Over the past couple of months I got some inspiration on Pinterest and then set about our own version.

We got four wine boxes at our local LCBO. With a donation to their charity you can pick them up at any of the stores. We stacked them in a staggered fashion and drilled a couple of drainage holes. I wanted to add some gravel for additional drainage, but didn't have any on hand, so I just filled the boxes with soil. The top one buckled for some reason, but I think it's still fine.

At the garden store I chose a variety of smaller plants, some of them are ground covers, others are larger. I have no idea what they are, but I liked the colours, shapes of leaves and looked at the sun/shade requirements. I planted them with enough space to add our fairies and in a way that allows them to grow and drape down the side of the boxes.

We found our princess castle (now butterfly fairy castle) at Michaels as well as the horse, fairy and tiny flower pots. Once the castle was placed I covered the different surfaces with sand, broken shells, left-over fish tank pebbles, glass pebbles and moss. I made sure to cover the soil as best I could.

We added a 'pond' with a pot I had made last year and D added his little fishing boy and dog. M decorated the castle with butterfly stickers, which is why we didn't paint it. We also have a PEZ Tinkerbell, a treasure chest, a princess bride and some pink miniature doll with purple hair - sometimes a helicopter brings in new inhabitants and often the dog goes for a swim.

I might attempt to build a small fence for part of the garden, but for now we're set. Have you ever built a fairy garden?

Monday, May 28, 2012

We visited Upper Canada Village and had a blast. This is the second time we've visited and both times we saw a few different things. Upper Canada Village is set in the 1860s with buildings built according to that time and people in costume, horse drawn wagons and a lot of British Flags.

You'll find a blacksmith, a flour and saw mill powered by water, a store, hotel, church, dress maker store, doctor's house and many more buildings. The kids love wandering around and seeing the different houses, the horses and just the whole feel of it being a little different.

I enjoy the little details, the quiet of no cars or other motors and the family walk we get out of it. It's a lovely place to visit and only an hour away from Ottawa. The weather was hot and sunny so we were glad the restaurant does not abide by 1860s standards and has AC - it was a chance to eat a quick bite and cool down.

You can visit for hours or just stay a bit - it's a beautiful place to stop by - they have events throughout the summer and fall. Next time I want to visit before Christmas for the 'Alight the Night' festival when more than half a million lights are hung in the village - I imagine it to be magical.

Friday, May 25, 2012

What do you do with the season's first strawberries? Strawberry tarts - puff pastry tarts to be precise. This one is made with a cream cheese lemon base and no glaze - yummy, slightly sweet and a perfect afternoon treat.

How to:

Store bought defrosted puff pastry spread in greased tart shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F until golden. Take out and let cool.

In the meantime mix a cupful of room temperature cream cheese and mix it with 3 tablespoons of sugar (or more if you want it sweeter), add a table spoon of lemon zest and 1-2 table spoons of fresh lemon juice. Carefully spread on cool pastry.

Cut your strawberries and spread on cream cheese mixture. Enjoy.

*If you prefer to add a glaze, take a tablespoon of strawberry jam and dilute it with bit of apple juice. Spread over strawberries and let set.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Before having kids I questioned a lot of things about how people raised children - the typical 'why can't that toddler sit still in an airplane' or 'why did that mother let her child go to the grocery store in Hello Kitty slippers'. Once we had our own children I noticed very quickly that I had no business questioning anything related to other children and I also started doing things I never thought I'd do.

Crawl under the table after every meal cleaning up (this was much easier when we had a dog)

Waking up without an alarm clock

Scooping piles of sand out of pockets and shoes all summer long

Using morning shower time to think without being interrupted

Thinking of creative lunches that fit in a small box and don't need to be warmed up

Picking up sippy cups all over the house

Talking about the kids constantly even when out on dates

Finding stickers and scotch tape on all walls of the house

Reading the same books over and over again

Seeing every age-appropriate animated movie and actually enjoying them

Cooking any shape of pasta to guarantee a successful dinner

Hiding vegetables in said pasta dishes

Saying NO every day

Having your heart strings pulled when you watch them sleep

Having to sort through arts and crafts deciding what to keep and what to recycle

Monday, May 21, 2012

Doesn't blue just look so summery and fresh? Makes me want to take a beach vacation.

What is this series about?For the collectible colours feature I choose a specific colour per month and collect things in my house to arrange and photograph. I can't go out and buy anything to match the colour scheme though, I have to own it - I find this a great exercise to focus on day-to-day objects and to see if they fit.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

As this blog is celebrating it's two year anniversary this week I thought it would be timely to ask you how you feel about this little corner of the world wide web. I'd like to know what you like, what's missing or even what you don't want to see.

So I've created a short and anonymous survey for you. It shouldn't take more than five minutes and your input would be much appreciated. I know your time is valuable, so I hope you'll also put your name in for the give-away I posted this week? I'll keep the survey open until May 30, 2012 and will be sure to share the results with you shortly.

Thank you so much for visiting here, for your comments, your input and thoughts on my little diary - it really means a lot to me.

Monday, May 14, 2012

This give-away is closed. The winner is Kimberly. Congratulations! Please contact me with your mailing address. The winning number was determined by random.org.

Fishly News is turning two this week! Can you believe how time flies? 257 posts - who would have thought that I'd have so much to say? I am truly enjoying my time on the blog, the conversations and the connections I've made. I'm glad I have a creative outlet and am able to share our photos and adventures with family and friends.

To thank you for stopping by on a regular basis and sharing the ride, I was lucky enough to have Tonic Living join me in a great give-away! Tonic Living is a family owned operation based in Toronto, Canada and is a great resource for modern retro fabrics, with excellent customer service and custom sewing services. Have a look - you'll find a bunch of fabrics that you'll want to order! I have used them for several projects including party chairs, framed fabric in the bathroom and bow-ties.

What's the give-away?
Your choice of2 lime green 12x17"cushionsOR2 coral 12x17"cushions.
This luxury, reversible pillow is made of 100% cotton and has a synthetic poly-fill insert. Zippered cover is sewn in Canada. All inside seams are surged/reinforced for durability.

How can you win? You have up to 3 entries.

Visit Tonic Living and leave a comment specifying which pillow or fabric you'd love to have in your house.

Up your chances and tweet about this contest @TonicLiving and @GiuliaDoyle and let me know (make sure to @ both of us to qualify this entry)

For extra, extra credit, go to the TonicLiving Facebook page and 'like' them, because they deserve a 'like'. Again, let me know in the comment section.

By when do I have to enter for a chance to win?
Comment by no later than Friday May 18, 2012 at midnight EST.
Winners will be announced on Monday May 21, 2012 on this blog and on Twitter. I will be contacting the winner by email.

Who can participate?
Anyone (except Quebec residents - see why here)
Make sure to leave your contact in your comment(s).
The cushions will be shipped to anywhere in North America. If you live outside of North America and are the winner, I'll figure out a way to get them to you.

A little extra bonus: Use code FISHLYNEWS for 10% off any Tonic Living order from now until June 14, 2012.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

I just wanted to share a glimpse of Spring that we are seeing in our yard. Amazing what a few hours of sun and a bit of rain can accomplish. Now off to those weeds that are already wanting to take over the yard!

Monday, May 7, 2012

We took a well deserved break from our fireplace remodel and discussed our colour options. At first we considered painting the brick charcoal, but then decided to lighten things up a bit after having had dark tiles for the past few years. Once we decided on the brick colour we had to decide on the tile for the hearth.

Our first direction was to go with a light coloured natural stone or tile to complement the white brick. I got some samples for us to look at:

Honed limestone

Large porcelain tile

Polished marble

Once we put them down on the hearth area something looked off. The light colour made the hearth float and the fireplace insert more prominent than we wanted it to be.

So we went out and got some darker samples. All of them are porcelain tiles:

Going dark on the hearth made all the difference. Now the fireplace insert looked grounded and the brick worked as a feature. By going dark the hearth also blends into the wood floors.

The black tile was too close in colour to the black of the fireplace, the greyish brown tile looked too boring - our winner was #4. It has a beautiful finish and a rich colour which is a bit hard to see properly on the photos.

We'll be getting this tile in a 18" x 34" format to get as little grout lines as possible. We'll have to do a bit of cutting to get a perfect edge and symmetry, but I think we'll be happy with our choice. I know it's hard to tell how it will all turn out, but making these decisions was a big step towards a finished project.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Beer cupcakes? Tasty? A novelty? Worth it? Well, they are a conversation piece and they are really good, but they don't really taste of beer. I smelled a faint whiff of beer from the glaze, but you are probably better off just replacing the cup of beer in this recipe with another liquid and drinking the beer.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Back in January, I shared my list of goals that I had for 2012 - some were biggies and some little things. Four months into the year I thought I'd have a look at where I stand.

Take a big trip with the whole family. Booked a week in Cape Cod and 2 nights in Boston for June!

Develop my food photography and food styling skills. Slowly working on it. I've been posting a food shot every Friday and I have Plate to Pixel and Food Photography at home to finish reading. I am also really looking forward to this workshop with Aran in June! See her photo above. She is amazing!

Work on my swimming and take part in the Bring on the Bay 3km swim We'll see about this one, I have not been in a pool since September, this is going to be a tough one.

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